Screening Applicants for Effectiveness (SAFE)

Co-Presented with Duluth's First Witness Child Advocacy Center

Praise for SAFE

“In six years this was the most beneficial and valuable training that I have attended.”

“This is one of the best training sessions I have attended. The information was extremely useful and the presentation of the information was interesting. Thank you.”

“It was a very heavy topic but the facilitators did a great job to make sure everyone felt safe and supported.”

-- Participants from March 2014 SAFE Workshop

"That man did not look like a scary, creepy man. He looked like a regular man. A regular man who could work at Publix or a regular man who works in an office. That's another piece that I really want people to see and understand. They don't look like lizards. He seemed genuinely gentle.

-- Lauren Book, Victim Industry Advocate

We would all agree that the safety of children and youth is one of our top priorities as youth serving organizations. At the same time, it seems that there is a new story in the news every day disclosing a young person who was a victim of sexual abuse. As mentoring professionals, it is our responsibility to create a thoughtful and thorough screening process to keep the kids we work safe from this type of harm.

How can we best screen volunteers to ensure this? Are background checks really enough to keep kids safe or is there more we should be doing? What do we need in place to make sure that people who might harm kids don’t get through our process while not excluding caring volunteers?

This full day workshop will focus on characteristics of child predators, the grooming process, and red flags that will cue you take a closer look at a mentor and ensure they are the right fit for your program. Participants will come away with tools and approaches for the screening process that range from first contact with a potential mentor until long after the match is made.

It is helpful to come to this workshop with a basic understanding of the screening tools and processes used in mentoring and other youth programs. However, this content is adaptable to both those new to the field and those who are more experienced. Come join us and learn how to use both subjective and objective observations during the screening process to make the best decisions you can and make sure that all the youth you serve stay SAFE!